“The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.” – Rajneesh-----------------------------------------------------------------------

last september 23, my younger sister gave birth to a very healthy baby girl. at 6 lbs. 13 oz., little baby gc is just a bundle of joy. her chubby cheeks, smooth skin and almond eyes are so irresistible.

she would be the very first-born on both sides of the family. so, you can just imagine the excitement of everyone. the lolas. the lolo. the titos and the titas.

her coming in to the world brought sheer happiness to everyone in the family, especially to my sister and her husband.

and it was really fun to see this one-week old baby unassumingly pose when i excitedly took pictures of her. a little smirk. a very serious look. a little twinkle in her eyes. a cute pout. i then thought to myself, "now this a little model in the making." when she’s older, i’d better teach her how to smize infront of the camera ;)

while she was sleeping, my younger sister shared a casual conversation between my friend, my mom and older sister. i was so engrossed with the sight of my niece sleeping that i never really paid much attention to what they were talking about. but, she said something that really caught my attention.

“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.” – Donald Miller-----------------------------------------------------------------

i had everything planned.

i was to treat them to dinner. good food, light conversations and enjoy each other’s company.

then after, go somewhere intimate and quiet where we could continue talking just about anything. and slowly segue the very purpose of my invite.

i’ve rehearsed what i was supposed to say. i had everything carefully scripted. prepared answers to questions that might come up. even had lies prepared just in case there are certain questions that i might not yet be ready to reveal.

i was about to strip myself down and be true to two of my close friends.

so, why all this preparation?

i guess the very simple answer is, i had to do it. i needed to do it. i feel like if i don’t tell anyone, i might just burst and go crazy. i felt like that the emotion was eating me up. for quite a long time, i kept how i really feel to myself. but there came a point where i had to have an outlet. to just be me. to be free.

the plan was not all that perfect. it went through a couple of postponements. but, it happened all at the right time.

and i am glad i did. i came out.

first, to myself. then, to two friends i’ve considered very close to. to my co-workers and colleagues. to other PLUs (most of whom i’ve been able to get to know here). and to a few more friends.

it was a whole new discovery. i’ve become closer to my friends. uotten to know wonderful people. uncovered a whole new me.